I passed the PBA exam on 21st Oct 2016. I am extremely happy to share this news as well as happy to post my experience and feedback about the iZenbridge’s PBA course. In a nutshell, iZenbridge’s PBA course played a key role in my preparation and gave me 100% confidence to pass the exam. I am posting my feedback section-wise so that it will help the future test takers to concentrate on topics separately and put more focus on these areas to make it a wholesome preparation. I am really sorry that my post is bit lengthy, but I promise that it will add value to your preparation, I am sure about it .

So let’s begin !!

Pre-requisites for preparation• Dedication & discipline --> 2-3 hrs a day, at least for 2 months should be good enough for the exam prep. Please do not give break during the preparations, which may lead to loss in momentum and may force you to start again from zero. Even if you are busy, spend at least half an hour a day trying to revise the previously studied topics so that you can have the same spirit of preparation till you give the exam.•Confidence & Self-motivation --> One should have confidence on self that he/she can do it, no matter how the circumstances are. Keep repeating positive thoughts in mind & visualize your success. It will motivate you a lot, and help you keep going. During the preparation, circumstances may not be ideal. You may have work pressure, family issues, personal commitments and various other issues, including test retaking the 3rd time. But, please do not give up. Remember that preparation phase is temporary and once you pass the exam, it may open many doors for you. So keep going

Preparation material & sources•ONLY iZenbridge’s PMI-PBA course --> Yes, you read it right. Please do not go for any other course other than the iZenbridge’s PBA course. There are many courses available in the market. But what distinguishes iZenbridge’s course from others is that the course focuses on building your concepts and strengthens your foundations, rather than just memorizing the content. Please bear in mind that, PMI-PBA exam is more about applying concepts in the real scenarios and get the best solution. If you want to succeed in exam, you need to work hard on building your concepts rather than mugging up. This course prepares you for the exam in a beautiful way by building your basics.•PMI-PBA practice guide -->This guide comes as a part of the course.•Participation in the iZenbridge forum --> You need active participation in the forums. Whenever you have doubts during the preparation, please post it in the forums and get it clarified. Please do not hesitate posting even silly doubts, as you are still in the preparation & learning stage. I also did the same & this process benefited me a lot.•Focus on what the Instructor says --> Seema madam, did an excellent job by helping me build my foundations for the exam. Please follow what she says in the forum, during webinars & various other prep activities. Once you post your doubt in the forum follow her guidance she gives you during your doubts clearing process in the posted threads. •Participation in Webinars --> Webinars are held at regular intervals & it is a golden chance for strengthening your concepts pertaining to that topic as well as to clear any doubts. You can post your queries in advance in the forum and get those clarified during the webinar.Study Method & Taking Assessment quizzes (Recommended approach)Everyone might have his or her own method of study. But, to get the maximum out of iZenbridge's PBA course I would recommend the following approach. Again it is only a recommendation & not mandatory.•Start preparing domain wise, one at a time and in the following sequence: Needs Assessment -->Planning --> Elicitation & Analysis --> Traceability & Monitoring --> Solution Evaluation.DO NOT break this sequence as one domain is linked to another. Skipping one section might result in an unproductive preparation with confused basics.•First, watch the videos in the course pertaining to the particular domain. Take notes while watching. It is important to concentrate on what the instructor says as it helps in building the foundation of that section. It is important for the test taker to know what goes in the domain and to have a good idea of the process flow. •Once you understand the basics and process in the videos go and read the corresponding chapter in the Practice guide. Videos covers the skeleton and practice guide fills the voids, resulting into the thorough understanding of the domain.•Once you have the good understanding, go and test your knowledge in the assessment section by attempting the quiz. Do not worry if you get the questions wrong. You are still learning. After attempting the quiz, analyze your mistakes as where you went wrong and why. The answer explanations in the quizzes are great source of learning and solidifying your basics. In case you have gap then go again and watch the videos, read the chapters & post your doubts in the forum until your score in the quiz stands above 90% consistently. DO NOT proceed to other section unless you achieve this mark. This is the yardstick of your progress. Below are some of the snaps of my assessment quiz progress. I targeted to score 48 in all domains before I take the real exam.

Needs Assessment.png (35.44 KiB) Viewed 6165 times

Planning.png (28.73 KiB) Viewed 6165 times

•You may feel that many questions are repetitive, no worries. Focus on understanding the question and the given situation in the question & relate your answer as a solution to that situation rather than just memorizing. While practicing numerous times, you will gain understanding of the various situations that can occur in that domain. In the real exam, you may not get the same situation, but your understanding of the previous situations practiced in the assessment quizzes will help you to choose a right answer.•If you follow this process, you can be 100% sure about the concepts and knowledge tested in that domain.•Trying attempting quizzes at different times i.e. in the morning (when you are charged up), after lunch (when you feel sleepy) & in the evening (when you are dead tired). This will tune you up and give confidence to appear for the exam, as your mind will have built up the capability by then to deal with any amount of stress.

Important topics to focus during preparation (DOMAIN-WISE)It is important to cover the entire content given in the practice guide for the exam. But, below are the special topics that I would request you to focus more, as they are of prime importance.•Needs Assessment --> Have a thorough understanding of the process flow followed in the Needs Assessment i.e. from Identifying stakeholders until the development of Business case. I got many questions on BUSINESS CASE. Focus on what are the important contents of the business case, what is Vendor assessment, role of SWOT in Business case, types of requirements, components of a situation statement & its examples. •Planning --> Focus on Conflict resolution planning, stakeholder management, components of Requirements Traceability matrix that is included for tracing during planning, defining solution evaluation criteria & components of requirements Management plan. •Elicitation & Analysis--> Be 100% sure about all the tools & techniques used for Elicitation & Analysis including the features that distinguish each technique from the other. You may be given a situation where you need to use a correct technique to get the best answer. Without understanding in depth about the techniques, answering will be bit tough. Focus on all the diagrams associated with each techniques that are mentioned in the practice guide. You may get a question that shows only the diagram & explains a situation and tells you to choose an answer. In such a scenario, you ought to know the tool & technique connected with the diagram. In the online course, there is a dedicated section on Tools & Techniques as well as a dedicated quiz to test your knowledge on the techniques. Use those resources to the maximum till you are thorough. Also be thorough about everything connected to Functional & Non-functional requirement. Please clear your basics concerning characteristics of the requirement, how to define them, components of the requirements, distinguishing Functional & Non-functional requirements with examples. Know about the solution evaluation criteria in detail.•Traceability & Monitoring-->This section is all about Requirements Traceability matrix. Know everything…..I am serious, everything means everything. To guide, focus on components of RTM, what are the uses of RTM, who uses, owner, what can be traced using RTM, use of RTM for managing solution scope, how it is created, who creates, collaboration points during scope management, configuration management & its components.•Solution Evaluation --> Focus mainly on evaluation process of Functional requirements & defects resolution.•PMP topics --> be thorough about RISK Management (especially risk management strategies with tools/ techniques & quantitative risk management), STAKEHOLDER MANAGEMENT, Types of communication used in the project, Quality Management tools & Techniques, decision-making techniques. Videos included in the course is enough to refer and prepare. You do not need any additional resources, even PMBOK.

Taking Mock test Taking assessment quizzes process is explained above. When you finish your preparation covering all the domains, now it is time for you to take the mock test. There are two mock tests included in the course, which are more than sufficient. Take one test 15 days before the exam and other one week before the exam. DO NOT take any tests when you are left with less than one weeks time for the exam. By doing so, you will have enough time to clear your gaps in understanding. Recommended score is 170+ before you take the real exam. If possible, try to take the test in a café or by playing a light music, so that you are tuned and used to test taking environment. Follow this approach for taking assessment quizzes also. Many people are having concentration issues and by following this approach, one can overcome to quite an extent.About the Assessment quizzes and Mock testAssessment quizzes are very close to real exam. These quizzes are designed very meticulously, and covers every aspect of the real test. You do not need any other source for your preparation. While attempting the quizzes, when you come across a situation make a note of it in your notebook. Focus on any tools and techniques if used and what process is being followed to get the best solution. In case you stuck up in understanding the question or you feel something is not clear, please post it in the forum and get it clarified. Tips for Real exam•While answering the questions, follow the method of elimination to get the right answer. In many questions you will find that two choices can be easily eliminated. The remaining two choices needs to be analyzed for choosing the right answer. Practicing assessment quizzes will help you in this regard. Also, while attempting the quizzes and mock exams practice this approach.•Majority of the questions in the exam is situational based. It will be very important for you to understand, what is being asked in the question or what situation is being presented to be solved. To be efficient in understanding the situation, you need to have a clear picture of what happens in each domain and what Business Analyst does if he comes across a particular situation. So, the videos of the course plays a crucial role in building the foundations of each domain together with giving the clear picture. Also, the PDF files in the course pertaining to webinars and clarification sessions comes handy to get the overall feel of the processes and domain structure. Use them efficiently during your preparation. •DO not forget to go through the glossary provided at the end of the practice guide. Many questions can comes directly i.e. pertaining to a definition etc...•In Practice guide you will find that in many places Collaboration points are mentioned after the description of an activity or process. These are the responsibility splits for BA & Project manager. Make a list of all the points and have a good understanding. Sometimes questions demand the solid understanding of the responsibilities of a project manager or Business analyst. •Lastly, Just relax and place your faith in the iZenbridge’s PMI-PBA course. It will help you sail through the exam. Believe me, I am telling you from my own personal experience.

I hope that my post will add value for all the future test takers. I wish all of you the very best for the exam.

Good Luck

ABHIJIT

Last edited by abhi_jeet203 on Fri Oct 28, 2016 11:21 am, edited 1 time in total.

Hi every one!!!I am new aspirant for PMI PBA and wanted to know, do we need to go for some other study material or the study material and video sessions provided by iZenBridge is sufficient? Also is there any official PMBOK guide available for PMI PBA? Are there numerical based chapters also?Regards,Gaurav

The only material and sources you need to pass PMI-PBA exam are:1) iZenbridge PBA online course2) PMI-PBA Practice guide from PMI (this guide is free once you take the membership of PMI by paying the fees)

Believe me, you will need nothing else apart from the ones mentioned above. Regarding Numericals, there are no special chapters on Numericals. Only the concept of NPV,IRR, Payback period needs to be clear, which is already mentioned in the course and is enough.